Year 3 ~ Chapter 2
The Great Hall was once again illuminated with the warm and comforting glow cast by the hundreds of floating candles on the ceiling. With the weather as bad as it was you could almost hear the large sigh of relief from the students entering the room.
Once all the pupils had been seated the new first years entered through the large hall doors, their inquisitive faces all agog with the sight of the enchanted twilight sky ceiling. One by one the sorting hat placed them in their new houses.
'Welcome, Welcome!', Dumbledore addressed the school, 'And may I say a particularly warm and dry welcome to our newest students. Now before we begin I'd like to address a few start of term announcements. Firstly, I am pleased to announce the return of Professor Hucklebury as teacher of Herbology while Professor Sprout is on temporary leave. I'd also like to welcome our newest teacher, Professor Mendacallius, he will be teaching Defence Against The Dark Arts this year. As usual our good caretaker Mr. Filch has asked me to remind you that magic is forbidden in the corridors between classes and that the Forbidden Forest will remain prohibited as usual this year. After an unfortunate incident involving a forgetfulness potion and a sixth year student last term, I'd like to advice you all to refrain from using such potions within the school grounds until further notice...'.
'Pssst!', said a voice behind Rosie. She turned around to see Cassandra Nightshade, a Gryffindor girl Rosie knew from her History of Magic classes.
'Hello Cassie,' whispered Luna.
'Have you heard?' Cassandra started, '…about Jenny and Vince, they're dating now apparently'.
'What!' said Sophie, possibly louder than she should have. 'You can't be serious?' she then whispered.
Cassie shrugged before turning back to her table. Rosie looked at Sophie, who'd developed an astonished look on her face.
'I thought you said it would never happen between them?' Rosie smirked.
'I thought so too,' said Sophie, clearly confused.
The girls heard Professor McGonagall tap her glass with her spoon. 'Attention please.'
'Thank you Minerva' acknowledged Dumbledore. 'Let the feast, begin!'.
The children all suddenly scrambled to get the food on their plates as quickly as possible, for it had been a long day and Dumbledores speech turned out not to be one of his shortest. With roast chicken and beef piled high on silver platters, hot and steamy pumpkin pasties, roast potatoes, sausages, gravy and an assortment of puddings and treats to die for, the students of Hogwarts never need complain about school dinners not being tasty.
Back in the girl's Ravenclaw dorm Rosie flopped onto her bed. Face down in the mass of pillows she mumbled something about how she'd outdo Sleeping Beauty in a sleeping contest right now.
Cho sat at the end of her bed, 'Tired? she giggle, draped in her dressing gown.
'Whatever gave you that idea?', Rosie sleepily chuckled into her pillow. But before any of the girls actually got around to dimming the fires and cleaning their teeth Cho updated them all on how her summer holiday to France had gone. She explained how she'd seen an international Quidditch tournament in the Alps and had visited a museum all about unicorns and sphinx's but before Cho had finished Rosie was once again fast asleep. Cho and Sophie had burst into laughter as they joked that their friend had been so bored with Cho's stories that she'd fell asleep.
That first lesson Tuesday morning was Divination, a class both Sophie and Rosie were going to share an equal contempt for. It wasn't exactly the kind of factual or practical class the two Ravenclaw girls were fond of, they'd most likely sit and giggle in the corner they thought as they made there way up the tower. However, when they reached the top Professor Trelawney, the usual Divination Professor was no where to be seen. In her place stood a tall, stocky young man with a long ponytail and a dark beard. Rosie remembered that Dumbledore had addressed him yesterday as Professor Mendacallius.
'Well in you go!', He frowned. With one wave of his wand the door was slammed shut and the students books all opened onto page 155, Heptomology.
'Quiet!', Professor Mendacallius shouted, to the children's surprise. 'Professor Trelawney is away on leave and I… I will be taking over this lesson for today.'
'Sir?' Roberta Grave, a Slytherin, began, 'I thought you were Defence Against the Dark Arts.'
"Quiet!', he again persisted. 'I don't know what your usual teacher is like but I require you to be a bit more respectful in my classroom.'
The students looked on silently. They were all pretty terrified of this new Professor, he didn't seem much fun, and Divination was already unenjoyable as it was.
Professor Mendacallius ordered the students to copy down all of page 155 into their notebooks. They all sat in silence for the fifteen minutes that this took. After they had finished Mendacallius remained silently walking up and down the classroom before the children got so bored that they began talking amongst themselves.
'Quiet! Can anyone tell me what a Probity Probe is?' Mendacallius scanned the classroom for volunteers. A Slytherin boy tried to conceal a laugh. Sophie frowned and slowly raised her hand.
'You girl, tell me!' he snapped.
'It… It detects spells of concealment and um…hidden magical objects sir, but, well, I mean, why are we learning about this is Divination?' Sophie blushed red and put down her hand. She turned to Rosie again to mouth 'help me' before giving her a faint smile.
Mendacallius was quiet for a few moments before he began to pace up and down the room. 'For 10 points, can anyone tell me what a Probity Probe and the number seven have to do in common?'
Everyone in the class looked completely blank. "I'll ask again shall I, what does a Probity Probe have to do with the number seven!' his voice getting louder.
A Ravenclaw boy in the front row raised his hand, 'I'm not certain, but I think I read that they've got a flaw which stops them from noticing an object with a spell or charm um… relating to the number seven'. The boy gulped as Mendacallius stood over him for what seemed like an eternity before muttering under his breath that the boy was correct.
'So, how does one solve this issue?' He looked pensively at the students, as if he was genuinely keen to discover the answer to this question.
The Ravenclaw boy looked up at the Professor again, 'Sir, you'd make your own Probe, that's how.'
Mendacallius leaned closer to the boy, rather menacingly hovering over him. 'And how, would one do that?', but before the boy could summon up the courage to try and answer the bells in the clock tower began to chime which marked the end of the lesson.
As Rosie packed away their belongings she noticed Mendacallius continuing to pace the room, apparently deep in thought.
'I don't know about you…' Sophie said as the girls exited the classroom, 'but I'm glad that lessons over with'.
